Extracts from Neruda’s poetry form epigraphs to each chapter as well. It’s taken from a line of poetry from one of Chile’s foremost poets, Pablo Neruda. The title, itself, as magical as it may sound, refers to the long, thin country of Chile on the Western coast of South America. In fact, the book at times feels like a non-fiction account. Allende draws directly from history and admits that she has based her fictional characters upon real people whom she has known and interviewed. A Long Petal of the Sea is not magic realism, however. In fact, it was the constant recommendation of that book by a work colleague that drew me to Allende’s latest novel, A Long Petal of the Sea, published earlier this year. She also has a reputation as a South American magic realist writer, with books like House of Spirits, which made her reputation in the 1980s. In her author biography Allende describes herself as a novelist, feminist and philanthropist. I’ve never read Isabel Allende before, so I have little to compare her latest book to.
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